SuperSport and e.tv have reached a once-off agreement to broadcast Saturday’s Test between South Africa and England at 10pm.

As reported on Thursday, e.tv is set to replace SABC as the ‘free-to-air’ broadcaster of rugby in South Africa. SABC wanted live rights, but SuperSport could never agree to this because they are the lifeblood of pay TV.

On Friday, Happy Ntshingila, CEO of SuperSport, said he was pleased that attempts to make the match available to free-to-air TV viewers has come to fruition. At this stage it is just for the Test in Johannesburg.

Monde Twala, Group Head of e.tv Channels Division, said that although this is a once-off deal, e.tv would welcome the opportunity to ensure that the majority of South Africans watch the Boks play in future.

‘We would have liked to have the opportunity to broadcast the Test matches a bit earlier, but given our schedule and time constraints, this was impossible,’ Twala said, referring to the delayed 10pm broadcast.